Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and the officials for being with us again to discuss this fifth element of the review. Strategic environmental assessments, SEAs, EIAs and the assessment on habitats have never been a more important component of the planning process as we all work to deliver action on climate change and to protect and enhance the natural habitats and biodiverse landscapes that exist within our communities up and down the country. I welcome this review because it is so important that we are continually reassessing whether what we are doing is having the desired impact and how our rules, regulations and laws fit in with the EU directives or could be adapted to include them.

Future-proofing was highlighted in the opening statement as a key component of the review. It is quite interesting to hear the officials speak about the impact the war in Ukraine has had with respect to independence from Russian fuel and how we transpose not just directives but also policy changes and statements of intent from the EU into our laws. I would like the officials to talk us through what kind of challenges they had to overcome on that issue in particular and whether having flexibility baked into our Bills would have helped to mitigate those challenges. I suppose I am really asking whether flexibility would provide future-proofing or whether it would leave Acts open to interpretation or misinterpretation and how we strike that balance.

The previous two contributors touched on renewable energy and supporting infrastructure. We as a committee have done so much work around maritime planning, maritime protected areas legislation and all the frameworks that come with that. I am interested in knowing how this review deals with that, not just in the context of the work this committee has done on our own national laws, but also in the context of European policy that might be coming down the tracks too. Those are my two questions.